Asda’s new Just Essentials range launched this week and went viral pretty quickly. Shoppers took to TikTok, Facebook and Instagram to share their delight at the bargains they’d picked up.

The budget line is actually not new, it’s just a rebranded version of the supermarket’s previous Smart Price range. other retailers, such as Waitrose and Morrisons, also have their own alternatives.

But Birmingham Live reporter Rebecca Astill says she was sceptical of these ranges, suspecting that shoppers would still be better off going to budget supermarkets like Aldi and Lidl. She said: “I do worry there is something being overlooked with the hysteria surrounding Asda’sEssentials range, and that is that whole budget supermarkets actually already exist.”

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So she decided to compare how a weekly shop would compare between Asda’s Just Essentials range and Aldi, to see which is cheaper. Here’s a list of the items she looked at, with Asda’s price given first. The items were matched according to size, except for the fish fingers and wheat biscuits where they were not available in the same size.

• Six pack crisps – 82p, 85p
• Wheat Bisks – 77p, 85p (but Aldi’s was 213g more)
• White potatoes- 99p, 99p
• Apple juice- 65p, 65p
• Spaghetti- 23p, 23p
• Tea bags-28p, 89p
• Cheese and tomato pizza- 66p, 69p
• Wafer thin cooked ham- £1.69, £1.69
• Frozen beef lasagne- 90p, £2.15
• Bacon- £1.25, £1.25
• Beef mince-£1.69, £1.69
• Baked beans- 25p, 37p
• Bolognese sauce- 39p, 59p
• Orange squash- 41p, 85p
• Wholemeal bread- 39p, 36p
• Grated cheddar- £2.40, £2.25
• Eggs- £1.35, £1.35
• Fish fingers- £69p, £1.55 (not the same weight)
• Strawberry jam- 31p, 31p
• Yoghurts-88p, 79p

The total cost of the shop from Asda was £17, compared to £21.39 at Aldi. Rebecca was shocked by the results. She said: “I stand corrected. It has blown my mind that an Asda Essentials shop of 20 items can be nearly £5 cheaper – allowing for some different sizes of packs.

“Although lots of items have clearly been price matched by the team behind Asda Essentials, there are a few products which cost much less, allowing Asda to run away with this one. The fish fingers, beef lasagne and wheat bisks have three of the biggest differences, however, sometimes this is because the portion sizes are different.”

She continued: “That said, a few items are still cheaper in Aldi in case you have the time on your hands to visit two supermarkets. Yoghurts and bread are both still cheaper at Aldi.

“It’s fair to say Asda Essentials has knocked it out of the park with this one, and with 293 products in the budget line, including fresh meat, fish and poultry, bakery, frozen, cupboard staples and household products, it couldn’t have come at a better time with the cost of living crisis.”

A spokesperson for Aldi said that the supermarket benchmarks its products against leading brands for quality and sells produce at “unbeatable prices”. They added that like-for-like comparisons differ against other budget ranges.

Aldi also has an award-winning premium range called Specially Selected and its Everyday Essentials, which includes items such as pasta, rice, cheese, eggs, bread, wonky fruit and vegetables, fresh meat, canned food and breakfast items.

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Article Source: Kent Live